This article looks at question forms in everyday language usage from a functional point of view. Question forms are used more often in classrooms than in other situations. The advantages and disadvantages of exploiting question forms in the language classroom are examined. (CLK)

Describes exercises using typical expressions used in conversation, including idioms, partial or complete clauses, syntactic structures, etc. Refers to Herder Institute's (1971) five steps in language learning, of which Step Five includes 4000 lexical units to be mastered for active use, plus 3000 for passive recognition. Gives examples and…

Reviews some of the current literature on the sociolinguistic aspects of ESL. (RM)

Second part of article begun in Engl Lang Teaching, v23 n2, Jan 1969.

Accepting that language diversity is functionally related to other variables characterizing human societies, much discussion stems from the advantages or disadvantageous nature of language diversity in terms of national development and national unity. To discover ways of measuring language diversity would help, in part, to solve the language…

The ordering of morphemes is examined in group cross-sectional studies of second language learner performance. It is studied in terms of ordering by internal frequency (i.e., the relative rank number of obligatory occasions supplied by the subject) and external frequency (i.e., the native adult frequency ordering of morphemes). There are…

Linguists of various theoretical backgrounds have likened second language (L2) acquisition to pidginization (Ferguson 1971, Richards 1971, Bickerton 1975a). This paper examines these two processes and suggests areas where a study of the process of second language acquisition in a natural setting might contribute insights to a general theory of…

It is the contention of this paper that there are general principles which determine the choice of the form of the diminutive and that these principles can and should be included in a first-year college Spanish text. The paper begins with a critical analysis of the traditional rules for diminutive formation, followed by a review of the information…

In order to achieve literacy, children must have mastered the decoding and encoding processes of the language of instruction. Usually this has been accomplished long before the child enters school. However, if the child's language is atypical for any reason, such as cultural or linguistic factors, then the acquisition of literacy requires a…

The aim of this paper is to clear up some of the confusion that has developed around interpretations of Bernstein's concept of code-distribution. After a rapid review of the main dimensions of linguistic variation within a given society, with particular attention to sociolectal and register variation, 'codes' are examined and compared with…

Politeness is discussed as an integral part of human conversational interaction. Awareness of politeness is important to understanding proper language usage. Several sentences may perform the same function but vary in tone from a command to an extremely polite request. Foreign language instruction should expose learners to politeness and the…

Three examples are given of cases where differences between Spanish and English syntax and intonation patterns are taught best through direct translation. Grammatical difficulties caused by "gustar" are overcome through the use of translation using "appeal" rather than "please". Similarly, problems for native speakers of English arising with…

This English-Mandinka dictionary is part of the Peace Corps language training instructional materials series. Many of the entries include sample sentences illustrating the use of a given item. (CLK)